EFFector Vol. 23, No. 14 June 1, 2010 editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a
desired change.
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In our 536th issue:
* ACTION ALERT: THE ANTI-COUNTERFEITING TRADE AGREEMENT
(ACTA) -- ALLEGEDLY CONCEIVED TO REDUCE THE FLOW OF FAKE
PHYSICAL GOODS ACROSS BORDERS -- IS A SHAM! ACTA could,
in reality, cut people off of the Internet, turn ISPs into
copyright cops, and create a global framework that puts
severe restrictions on innovation. Use the link below
to see if your member of Congress is on the appropriate
committee. Then tell him or her not to be fooled by this
chicanery and demand that ACTA be limited to addressing
international counterfeiting.
To take action on ACTA:
http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=451
* EFF HAS TAKEN FACEBOOK TO TASK FOR PUSHING USERS INTO
UNPRECEDENTED OVERSHARING, joined by a concerned chorus of
privacy-conscious users. In response to the firestorm of
criticism, Facebook announced a series of privacy changes
to the social networking site last week. The changes are
improvements, and users should make the most of the new
privacy controls, but there are still critical privacy
gaps that Facebook should address.
For an in-depth analysis of the Facebook privacy changes:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/facebooks-new-privacy-improvements-are-positive
For a step-by-step guide to the new privacy options:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/more-privacy-facebook-new-privacy-controls
For the Bill of Privacy Rights for Social Network Users:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/bill-privacy-rights-social-network-users
For a round-up of reactions to the privacy changes:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/facebook-privacy-changes-inspire-praise-optimism
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EFF Updates
* Google Launches Encrypted Search
Encrypted search improves user privacy by protecting
against various forms of electronic eavesdropping.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/google-launches-encrypted-search
* Google's Open Wi-Fi Privacy Mistake Must Be the Last
Google's inadvertent collection of unencrypted Wi-Fi data
using Google Street View cars is a rookie mistake and a
wake-up call for users to beef up their use of encryption
on open Wi-Fi.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/time-google-grow-make-open-wi-fi-privacy-mistake
* EFF Seeks Attorneys to Help Alleged Movie Downloaders
Are you an attorney licensed to practice law in the
United States? If you are, EFF needs your help to fight
spamigation.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/eff-seeks-attorneys-help-alleged-movie-downloaders
* EFF Adds to Massive Archive of Government Records
Almost 200 FOIA requests and over a dozen lawsuits
have netted us a treasure trove of government records
on surveillance, contracts with Google, travelers'
complaints, and more.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/eff-adds-thousands-of-pages-to-document-archive
* Judge Shields Identity of Critic Facing Baseless Lawsuit
EFF successfully defended the free speech rights of a
user facing a bogus lawsuit from a company criticized on
a Yahoo! message board.
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/05/18
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Announcements
* EFF's DEF CON 18 Getaway Contest Update!
Eighty-one participants have raised approximately $2500
so far in EFF's DEF CON 18 Getaway Contest! This week
the Holy Handgrenades team remains in first place with
a $600 total, followed by Nodes with $500 and individual
contestant Evan Keiser with $65. It's still anyone's game,
so you're not too late to join the fun!
Register for the DEF CON 18 Getaway Contest today and
receive a personalized referral link. Send the link to
your friends and family, and tell them why they should
support EFF. The contestant(s) to raise the most money
for EFF between now and June 30, 2010, will win:
- two DEF CON 18 Human badges;
- a standard room at the Riviera Hotel for the nights of
July 29-31;
- two tickets to the Vegas 2.0 Party at the Top of the
Riv on July 29;
- two tickets to the iSEC Partners Party, location and
date TBD; and
- two badges to the Ninja Networks Party, location TBD,
on July 31.
There are prizes for second and third place winners,
as well. Visit www.eff.org/defcon for more information
and official contest rules. Contact contest@eff.org with
any questions. See you in Sin City!
* Help EFF Go to SouthEast LinuxFest!
EFF is looking for donations of airline miles, flight
vouchers, and hotel points for travel to SouthEast
LinuxFest in Spartanburg, SC, as well as other conferences
and speaking engagements. If you have enough airline miles
for a free ticket and would like to send an EFF staffer
to a conference, let us know, and we will help you with
the process of making the reservation. Please note that
at this time we are unable to combine miles from multiple
individuals. We are also looking for hotel rewards points
to help reduce our overall travel costs.
As a thanks for your donation, we can offer a free
membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd
like). Please contact aaron@eff.org if you can help!
* EFF Seeking Staff Intellectual Property Attorney
Dream job alert: EFF is seeking an intellectual property
staff attorney for its legal team. Responsibilities
include litigation, public speaking, media outreach,
plus legislative and regulatory advocacy, all in
connection with a variety of intellectual property and
high technology matters.
Qualified candidates should have at least four years of
legal experience, with knowledge in patent law and at
least one other IP specialty (copyright, trademark, trade
secret). Litigation experience is required, including
significant experience managing cases, both overall case
strategy and day-to-day projects and deadlines. Candidates
should have good communication skills and interest
in working with a team of highly motivated lawyers and
activists in a hard-working nonprofit environment. Strong
writing and analytical skills as well as the ability to
be self-motivated and focused are essential. Tech savvy
and familiarity with Internet civil liberties and high
tech public interest issues preferred. This position is
based in San Francisco.
Interested applicants should submit a resume, writing
sample, and references to ipjob@eff.org.
* EFF Seeking Webmaster
EFF is seeking a full-time webmaster to start
immediately. This person will be responsible for
managing content and building web features on eff.org,
and helping to build and maintain EFF's web initiatives
and campaigns. The environment is fast-paced; the work
is cutting-edge. A love of technology and familiarity
with related civil liberties issues is a must.
The ideal candidate will have a broad range of experience
in web development, including:
* Standards-compliant XHTML/CSS markup
* Web scripting languages: PHP, Javascript
* Open-source web server technologies: Unix, Apache, etc.
*Graphics production, editing and optimization
* An eye for clean user-centric web design and layout
* Organizing and keeping track of large amounts of complex
web content
Additional familiarity with any of the following is
a plus:
* Drupal CMS theming and development
* Subversion (or similar concurrent versioning system)
* MySQL
* Writing blog posts, press releases, web content, etc.
Salary $45,000-$50,000 with benefits. To apply, send a
cover letter and your resume with links to some samples of
your work to webjob@eff.org. Please send these materials
in a non-proprietary format. No phone calls please!
The job is based out of EFF's offices in San Francisco,
CA. Applicants must live in or be able to relocate to
the area.